Spicy Chilly

Butterscotch Blondies~The 100th Post!..

2009-06-27T16:15:00.011+05:30

A Monday morning, some two years back, I was chatting with my sister, a googler.. a blogger..

Quite impressed by her cute space (she was not a food blogger then) I was all in(silly)doubts and(stupid)queries..

Me: Can anyone like me, 'blog'?..

Her: Why not??!, as long as you can write something interesting and can hold your 'readers'…

Me: Hmmff… I don’t think I can write a thing and expect someone to read my journal perpetually..I fear I'd run out of ‘interesting’ topics very soon to ‘hold’ anyone..bah..!

Her: I am confident that you never would run out of 'recipes!'..

Me: @#$#@%

Her: Click a decent picture(??!!)of what you cook and type in …the world is always in need of good food recipes..

Me: Aah!![Now sitting erect..head held a li’l high…cough cough..no use..no web cam..bleh!]
Cont..
“Holding a site requires lots of basic knowledge and I am a total zero in there…”

Her: Din’t I tell you that blogger is user-friendly, the more you invest time in there, the more you learn…and no more questions YOU CAN do it, START.. right away!!…

I created a crude one, sent her the link in another couple of hours..

"Good start up..but very disorganised..guess you’ve to work a lot in it with the header, title, side bars,and….. well check out this link..and see how tis done.."

From this lovely place and the smart blog roll, I found myself virtually flying in the wonderful sky of food blogging...bloggers hailing from different countries with varied cuisines..so creative!.. food photographs, recipes, write ups,…. totally fascinating me!..
…………

....Thus began my journey with the “crude disorganised space” as a food blogger enriching little by little with recipes, pictures, write ups……

....and I believe I’ve come a long long way!!….

Now, I feel proud and happy to have come up with the 100th post, a bench mark that deserves a simple celebration.. :)

Butterscotch Blondies from my sister's place was something I’d wanted to try for quite a long time and was postponing just because I failed to get the Butterscotch chips here.
Down came a cute bottle from her when we spent our lovely days in our home town, two months back, and here I am with the final product…

Her recipe reproduced

Get ready with: (yielded 16 squares)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup butterscotch chips

1 pinch salt

How to make:

1. Cream the melted butter and sugar until well blended.

2. Add the egg and mix well. Then add the vanilla extract.

3. Dunk the flour and salt in. Mix well until combined, with no lumps.

4. Add the chips and mix gently.

5. Transfer to a greased cake tray to a pre-heated oven at 350 F/174 C and bake for about 30 mins or until a toothpick/skewer comes out clean.

6. Cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Find the step by step procedures and the “Yada Yada” here… ;)

I am extremely grateful to my readers and my blogger pals...

Bloggers pals are many to name :)!!.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you who had supported with undying enthusiasm thoroughout my journey…

Tight hugs to Swapna, my class mate, who always gave a tender “kick” when ever I hibernated.. :)..without her pushes(many a times, too hard ;)) I would’ve definitely taken yet another year at least to reach this milestone.. ;)

Thank you so much everyone for following along...
You guys are the very reason why I'm still blogging today!
Hope it continues for ever…

Love,
Bharathy :)

Poondu Kuzhambu / Veluthulli Theiyal

2009-06-22T10:22:00.005+05:30

Garlic Cloves cooked soft in tangy and spicy sauce, that would be the easy and the apt description of the curry!..:)

Poondu Kara-kuzhambu is said to be South Indian in Origin, a famous dish in Karaikudi, a village that belongs to the Chettinad region in Tamil Nadu. I’ve seen the kuzhambu being served when one recovers from fever or as a supplementary diet for lactating mothers. The garlic, fenugreek, dhania, pepper and curry leaves, rich in medicinal values facilitate easy digestion and lactation.

The dish is popularly known as Veluthulli Theiyal in God’s own country.

My Amma’s version of the is somewhere between Kerala and Tamil in Cuisine.(my MIL prepares the Tamil way with added channa and urad dal while roasting, which I’ll post later.These are avoided in my mom’s recipe, that follows).

We used Otrai poondu, (Single clove or Pearl garlic) from the farms of Kumbhum, Tamil Nadu which gave the best results.You can substitute with large variety cloves of Garlic.

Ingredients

Otrai poondu or large cloves of garlic- One cup, heaped
Tamarind-a lime sized ball
Salt-to taste

To roast and grind to a very smooth paste

Gingelly seed oil-a tsp
Coriander seeds /Kothamalli/Malli/Dhania- or powder4 tbsps (heap the spoon if you use seeds)
Fenugreek seeds/uluva-1/4 tsp
Red Chillies-8-10
Black Pepper corns-a heaped tsp
Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Shallots-1/2 cup
Garlic cloves-2,3
Curry leaves-a sprig

To Season
Gingelly seed oil-1/4 cup
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Asafoetida-less than 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-a sprig

Method:
1. Soak tamarind in warm water.Extract pulp.

2. Heat a tsp of oil as mentioned in the “roast and grind” list in a heavy bottomed kadai.Roast the fenugreek and next the coriander seeds and the red chillies in medium flame stirring all the time till the colour changes and the aroma spreads out. (Usage of coriander powder is the easiest way and if you use this make sure not to burn it, and roast along with the chillies stirring all the time until the colour of the powder turns deeper and the aroma spreads out).

3. Turn off the flame.

4. Throw in rest of the ingredients ; the pepper corn, cumin seeds, turmeric powder,
shallots, garlic and curry leaves in order, stirring the mixture heating them all up.The heat of the kadai is enough for this step.

5. Cool and grind to the smoothest paste with just enough water.(Coriander powder grinds well rather than the seeds and hence suggested).

6. In a thick bottomed vessel, we used the traditional Kalchatti, combine the above paste with the tamarind extract.Add salt. Let the curry be watery at this stage. Boil and simmer the kuzhambu well closed with a lid. After 10-15 minutes, season the simmering kuzhambu by heating the ¼ cup of gingelly oil in the earlier kadai, used for roasting, splutter the mustard seeds, add asafoetida and sauté the garlic cloves till golden brown, throw in the curry leaves and add to the curry.
Simmer until you get the real flavour of the Poondu Kuzhambu spreading all around the kitchen and the oil separates.

7. Serves best with boiled rice and pappad.(I love idly or dosa bits dunked in this yummy curry :)).

Aval Nanachathu- Sweetened Rice flakes

2009-06-15T18:01:00.009+05:30

I was in Chennai past week; plus V and minus Kids, that proved to be a lovely n relaxing weekend..;)
..and this Saturday night around 10pm, I happened to be in a restaurant fully packed, waiting, hoping to get one of the tables cleared.
A girl popped up from behind,"are you Bharathy?.. of Spicy Chilly?”..
She looked beautiful, 'slim n smart' and my “grey matter” was working with its fullest effort, trying to scan the cute face…

Yes I am…but..you…??..hmmm..!!..??*&*#

“Nanditha”.., she yelled sweetly.. !!..
.. next moment we found ourselves hugging tight, each other.. :)

Nanditha looked naturally pretty with no make up except for Kajal,…bubbly and young in a simple pink chicken-work cotton top n black pants that suited her very well which again complimented the colour theme of the restaurant(this part was ultimately detected by her warm and cheerful husband).. ;)
We ranted for quite sometime; about kids, family, her dance classes, her own academy that got inaugurated in a grand manner the very previous day ….and when I asked her to sit for a while(possibly to relax)..the next question was shot,"well, do you really mind me talking to you ?”

“Ha ha.. not at all”… (scratch scratch ..;) she would’ve read my mind struggling to keep a pace with her constant lovely n lively conversation ;))
Her cute little boys were playing in the kids area when I approached to say a 'hi' ...little more rants and finally it was time to say a bye..

Another warm bear hug…:D!!

It was the first time I’d bumped on a blogger pal.. and just can’t put in words how sweet n memorable those moments are.. !!..
……………..

…and now for the recipe, promised to rush to my sister who hosts Monthly Mingle-‘Ravishing Rice’, an event started by Meeta.

You need (to serve two)

Aval/Beaten or flattened rice- I used Double Horse brand thin red rice flakes-2 large cups

Fresh grated coconut- ½ cup(more or less)

Cold milk- ½ cup(a little more or less)

Jaggery-grated fine- 1/2 - 3/4 cup(or to taste-I like it sweeter)

Powdered cardamom- A fat pinch(optional)

Mix together aval and jaggery until it has blended well. Now mix in the coconut and the cardamom powder. Add the milk a few spoonfuls at a time and mix well. Using your fingers, preferably.. :)

You are done!... dig in a spoon and enjoy the world's easiest snack..:)

Note

Feel flexible with the ingredients making them more or less than suggested according to your likes.:)
If you like it a bit soggy and soft, use warm milk and leave aside for 10-15 mins before serving. This is an easily digestible, healthy snack and can be made in no time.

If you're new to 'flattened rice'..

Flattened rice is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. These flakes of rice swell when it absorbs water,milk or any other liquids whether hot or cold. The thicknesses of these flakes vary between almost translucently thin to nearly four times thicker than a normal rice grain - Wikipedia.

Vattayappam / Steamed Rice n Coconut Bread

2009-05-27T15:44:00.006+05:30

Vattayappam is nothing else but a simple "Rice Bread"!.

This sweetened steamed up bread is a popular tea time delicacy in Christian homes of Kerala and said to be a delicacy served for breakfast during Christmas time.

Usually I make them using rice flour, the easiest way, but this time tried out the traditional method from Anita’s, which I 'd bookmarked a few months ago, which turned out to be a mega hit at home yesterday.

Just follow blindly what she has explained step by step and you are there with the perfect vattayappams in the end.

A few "musts" to keep in mind for the best Vattayappams.

Usage of cooked Rose matta while grinding along with soaked raw rice as Anita has suggested.
Collecting the froth atop the fermented batter, spooned out with care.
Usage of shallow round pan for steam cooking.
Always use the best quality yeast, raw rice and freshly grated coconut.

Whew!, what a great escape from typing down a whole traditional recipe ;)..

For my sister who hosts Monthly Mingle-‘Ravishing Rice’, an event started by Meeta.

With love, from Kuttanad…

2009-05-24T21:22:00.005+05:30

Born in the lovely town of Alappuzha, I am emotionally bound to Kuttanad, the suburban stretch, I used to watch in awe as a child; the lovely sight of lush green paddy fields stretching out to eternity and palm fringed backwater banks with the dainty blue sky above .

Kuttanad is the rice bowl of Kerala, the major granary of the state, with the major rivers Pampa , Meenachil, Achenkovil and Manimala.

Rice is cultivated in Palakkad as well.

The first harvest season in Kerala is just before the onset of summer, around the months of March-April.The next harvest season during the months of October-November; the entire place is a sight to behold with golden paddy swaying in the breeze.

Rice is the staple food of Keralites.They strongly prefer the healthy Chumanna Ari or the Red Rice with the bran rich in Vitamins and minerals to the polished ‘unhealthy’white rice.

Now let’s have a quick introduction to the common varieties of Red Rice that hail from the state..

Palakkadan Matta

Cultivated in Northern Kerala. Paddy is cleaned and made free from mud and stones. Next it is boiled in water, once(oru puzhukkal).The process is known as Parboiling.The paddy is dried and pounded so as to separate the grains from the Paddy (Nellu Kuthal).These grains cooked to rice are soft.Cooking time is less and the yield is also comparatively lesser.

Kuthari-(Kuthiya Ari meaning-Pounded Rice) -(Vadi variety)

A product of Kuttanad.Paddy is boiled in water, twice(Iru puzhukkal) or Double boiled,dried and pounded.Cooks for a longer time and the yield of the boiled rice is higher and the grains, firmer and less sticky than Matta.

Podiyari-(Podi Ari-Broken Rice)

The grains of Kuthari,while the process of Nellukuthal or while being pounded, gives off broken rice which is separated and named as Podiyari. Keralites use Podiyari to prepare Podiyari Kanji or the rice porridge.

Unakkalari-(Unakku Ari-Dried Rice)
Unakkalari is Raw Rice (pachari) with bran.The paddy is cleaned but the boiling part is skipped.The wet paddy is spread, dried well enough in shadow and pounded. Unakkalari is added along while preparing Puttu Podi.Also used to make Payasam.

Kuttanad image courtesy- Manoj Lovedale & www.keralatourism.org
Palakkad image courtesy- www.shubhyatra.com

The Article goes to my sister who hosts Monthly Mingle-‘Ravishing Rice’, an event started by Meeta.

Ariyunda - The simple sweetened rice balls from Kerala

2009-05-23T12:40:00.011+05:30

Ariyunda, the simple snack of God’s own country is one among my favourites. Still being in my home town,I could easily get hold of Kuthari (the red rice) and the sarkara(jaggery).This dark coloured jaggery (I wonder why these exact ones are unavailable in other states of the country!!) gives the unique flavour and colour when blended with the pretty fibre packed Kuthari ,the one extremely preferred to make this delicacy.

Traditionally the roasted rice was hand pounded in Ural and its wooden pestle, the Ulakka, those days , imparted the right fresh flavour and consistency to the done snack.As the Mixer is being replaced as any other machines,the roasted rice gets in there and makes the work much easier, but for sure not that enriched taste as the former…

Get ready with:

Rice-Kuthari preferred- a cup

Jaggery-200 gms-broken to lumps

Water-1/4 cup(to melt jaggery)

Freshly grated coconut- a cup

Cardamom-3-4-powdered

How to..

1. Wash Kuthari well.Remove stones if any. Heat a heavy bottomed kadai .Drain the rice and directly transfer to the kadai.

2. Dry roast the wet rice stirring all the time so that the grains are browned in a uniform way.This takes 10-12 minutes or continue till you hear mild cracking sound of the rice getting roasted.Pop a few grains into your mouth and they crack well between your teeth or will be brittle.This is how we can know the right stage of the roasted rice.

3. Cool and powder in a mixer.Neither too coarse nor too powdery.Sift the powder using the sieve for fine rava or make sure the mesh is in the right size just to allow granules down like that of fine rava.Mix in the powdered cardamom.

4. Melt the jaggery lumps in 1/4 cup of water. Strain to remove impurities, return to the stove and bring to a boil.Add coconut at this stage and keeping the flame low, simmer the mixture until the syrup gets sticky; takes 5 minutes more or less.Take care not to boil this syrup mix is boiled too much as the final Ariyunda tends to be hard.Turn off flame once the right consistency is reached.

5. Stir in the rice powder.Mix well taking care that no lumps are formed.Take a fistful and shape into balls. This measurement would yield upto 15 balls.Don’t worry if the they are soft as they turn harder the next day.Consume while fresh or else refrigerate, even if they have a shelf life for a week.

6.This is referred to as 'Poor man's sweet' and hence the traditional Ariyunda requires no ghee or cashews.If you love the combination ,feel free to add both and enjoy the richer delicacy :)

For my sister who hosts Monthly Mingle-‘Ravishing Rice’, an event started by Meeta.

To my Grandma…

2009-05-21T19:19:00.026+05:30

While we honour mothers
With words of love and praise,
While we tell about their goodness
And their kind and loving ways,
We should also think of Grandma..
She's a mother, too, you see
For she mothered my dear mother,
As my mother mothers me!

Lying peacefully at the corner of the bedroom, she breathed for one last time….

Amidst the grievances of the loss,I console myself for having spent some solid time, took care of her,fed her the last Sunday morning she passed away.

Funeral, condolences,consoles,relatives, friends…all had came to a slow still by the passing days…

…………..

………

Amma and me decided to make Vatti Pulusu, which reminded of grandma, in every step.

Grandma was undoubtedly an expert in preparing this special curry,Vattipulusu , a comfort dish, truly unique and loved by all of us in the family..

I knew amma had mixed feelings all the while and I needed to be the one to reassure her that at least she had a peaceful end and is in a better world..

.... Vattipulusu, simmering in the Kalchatti, spreading the aroma all over the house, she prepares for us with her utmost love and care..

Ingredients:

Tamarind-a small lime sized ball

Salt-to taste

To roast and grind to a very smooth paste:

Gingelly seed oil-a tsp

Coriander/ Kothamalli/Malli/Dhania Powder-4 tbsps (use 4 heaped tbsps if you use seeds)

Fenugreek seeds/uluva-1/4 tsp

Red Chillies-8-10

Black Pepper corns-a heaped tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

Shallots-1/2 cup

Garlic cloves-8

Curry leaves-a sprig

To season:

Gingelly seed oil-2 tbsps

Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp

Asafoetida-less than 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves-a sprig

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in warm water.Extract pulp.

2. Heat a tsp of oil as mentioned in the ”roast and grind” list in a heavy bottomed kadai.Roast the fenugreek and next the coriander seeds and the red chillies in medium flame stirring all the time till the colour changes and the aroma spreads out. (Usage of coriander powder is the easiest way and if you use this make sure not to burn it, and roast along with the chillies stirring all the time until the colour of the powder turns deeper and the aroma spreads out).

3. . 3.Turn off the flame

4. Throw in rest of the ingredients ; the pepper corn,cumin seeds,turmeric powder, shallots,garlic and curry leaves in order, stirring the mixture heating them all up.The heat of the kadai is enough for this step.

5. Cool and grind to the smoothest paste with just enough water.(Coriander powder grinds well rather than the seeds and hence suggested)

6. In a thick bottomed vessel (we used the traditional Kalchatti) combine the above paste with the tamarind extract.Add salt. Let the curry be watery at this stage.Boil and simmer the pulusu well closed with a lid. After 10-15 minutes, season the simmering Pulusu by heating the 2tbsps of oil in the earlier kadai , used for roasting, splutter the mustard seeds, asafoetida and next the curry leaves.Simmer until you get the real flavour of the Vattipulusu spreading all around the kitchen and the oil separates .

7. Serves best with boiled rice, idlies and dosas.

This is a spicy and tangy Indian curry, with no vegetables.The name Vattipulusu must have originated from the Telugu word Vanti, meaning plain and Pulusu, a gravy.
Vattipulusu is close to Vatral kuzhambu, of Tamil cuisine ( of course without the vatral) and Theiyal of Kerala..

I’d not wished to show my feelings here but badly wanted to share this wonderful dish with my lovely friends what I watched and learned from my grandmother, the greatest cook of my world..

I strongly feel her presence in this room, when I type this in my lap top, breathing in her air …

....and my sister's post moving me to tears...

Godhambu Dosa / Wheat pan cakes with Red Chutney

2009-05-11T16:20:00.005+05:30

When I woke up on Mother’s day, Anon’s words flushed in to my mind ,

"God could not be everywhere and therefore he made Mothers."

Still in my home town, I was glad that I could spend this Special day with her after a long time; hurried downstairs to hug and wish amma who was busy making the morning coffee, hugged me back with the same warmth, asking ,"Bharathy, what do you want for breakfast?"..

Hmm.. something simple..

Chappathis?Pooris?...Idiyappam??(all these obviously fall under her easy-to-make list!)

"What about Godhambu Dosa and Red Chammanthi ?"..I intruded..

"Yeah Sure!, but will you blog this?..for me??"

YAY!! Why not..??!!..

She deserved another TIGHT bear hug from me…

The batteries were pulled out from the charger, red lights still on, warning me "uncharged!". The camera was loaded and all set..

While amma was making the preparations I noted down the ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups

Water – 1 3/4 to 2 cups

Salt- to taste

To temper:

Oil-2 tbsps (you may not need oil while cooking dosas)

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Finely cut big onions-1/2 cup

Green Chillies- slit once lengthwise and across to four pcs- 2

Curry Leaves- a sprig

What she did:

1. First mixed the flour and salt in a large bowl.

2. Gradually she added water to make a thin batter taking care that no lumps are formed while doing so. I gave her a helping hand here.

3. The consistency of the batter was thinner than the normal dosa batter. We needed about 1 3/4-2 cups of water.

4. She heated oil in a pan, spluttered the mustard seeds, sautéed the onions, green chillies and the curry leaves and poured this over the batter while warm(not hot, straight from the fire) which I finished mixing by then.

5. She heated up the dosa griddle, greased with a few drops of oil and poured a ladleful of batter from the edges towards the centre to form a round shaped dosa.

6. She told me to trickle the edges with a few drops of oil 'only if necessary'.

The dosa lifted on its own well with the tempered oil in itself.

7. Allowed to cook for a couple of minutes on each side while turning over. The dosa was ready when browned and cooked on both sides.

8. While I took hold of the dosa making part, she proceeded with the red chutney, the divine combination for Godhambu Dosa

Red Coconut Chutney

We needed:

Red chillies-6

Coconut -2 cups

Garlic cloves-2

Tamarind- a tamarind seed sized

Salt-to taste

Water- as needed

Curry leaves- 6 nos

Grind all the above with enough water and salt to make the chutney.

Make sure that you pulse the chillies alone at first , grind all the rest except the curry leaves which are to be added lastly.

We settled down together and enjoyed our breakfast with the rest of the members of my family :)....

I am thinking of getting her some cute gift now.. :)!!..

Note-The perfect golden brown colour, I feel is due to the usage of whole wheat flour, freshly ground from the wheat, in a local mill.Therefore the colour and the texture of the dosa is highly dependant on the quality of the powder.

Beetroot Coconut Curry

2009-05-09T20:29:00.006+05:30

Beets are disliked by most.I seldom buy this purple veggie since V and kids are never fans of it.

Alas!..Our own farm grown beets slowly began filling up my veggie tray forcing me to try something new and believe me this easy-to-make curry went quite well with hot steamed rice, proving to be a good comfort dish on a hot summer noon!.

Ingredients:

Beet root-2 medium-each cut into one inch cubes.

Tamarind-marble sized or a tbsp of thick tamarind pulp.

To Grind:

Grated Coconut-2 cups

Red chillies-10 nos or Chilly powder- 1 ½ tbsps

Shallots-4

Cumin seeds -½ tsp

Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

To Season:

Oil- a tbsp

Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds/uluva-1/2 tsp

Finely minced shallots-3

Curry leaves- a sprig

Method:

Cook the beetroot pieces in a pan in just enough water till half done.

Grind the ingredients to a paste, not too smooth.Extract the tamarind pulp.Add these to the pan.

Simmer for 5 minutes with enough water to form a thick curry.

Heat oil in another pan, splutter mustard seeds, throw in the fenugreek seeds,

sauté the minced shallots and the curry leaves.Pour over the curry.

Simmer the curry for another 5-10 minutes till the right consistency.Check salt and remove from fire.

Kannimanga Achar / Tender Mango Pickle

2009-05-05T13:11:00.013+05:30

Summer in Kerala... the season for Mulla poo(jasmine),Chakka (jack fruit)and Kannimanga(the young mangoes)..

I'm still enjoying my holidays in my native town down here in Kerala…the hot days filled with fun, loads of love and care…

V simply loves LOVES "Vadu manga oorugai".Me never an expert when it comes to making pickles, always “dread” to the utmost :).. decided to try making the same with the help of amma, blog, as I was sure it would be a great traditional keeper for you girls as well as for me and take my words it was so simple and never ever “dreadful “ as I felt until now…

So here’s the pickle packed with loads of love and care…

You need:

Sour variety Tender mangoes, as bunches-1 kg

Salt- 250gms

Water- 4 cups more or less(or the quantity to just immerse the mangoes)

Mustard seeds-50gms

Red chilly powder-4 heaped table spoons

Asafoetida powder/Perungaya podi-to flavour

Vinegar-optional(in case the magoes are less sour)-2 tbsp

Mustard seed oil- 2 tbsp

How to:

Wash the mangoes as bunches. Amma never let me separate them at this stage as she badly wanted to preserve the Chona (the milky sap)which started oozing out when I did it ;)

Now she came into the scene, washed them well, shook off excess water, placed them on a clean white dry cloth,wrapped up and patted dry.Now we together snipped the mangoes one by one and saw to it that every mango had at least a cm of its stalk along with. Then we stacked them into a clean and dry 2 ltr Bharani, the traditional earthen pot used for preserving pickles(see pic).

Add salt to the mangoes in the bharani. Shake well. Close with its lid and tie a white cloth around the neck.

Open the bharani on the 3^nd day, 4^rd ,6^th and 8^th days, shake to toss the mangoes or stir well with a clean, dry wooden ladle.The mangoes shrink as the water ooze out and lose the green colour to a pale yellow with aging.

On 8^th day(just after a week), heat mustard seeds in a dry kadai.Take care not to roast, but heat well. Turn off flame, remove the seeds and heat the chilly powder now.Stir continuously while you do the heating parts of both.Take care not to burn the chilly powder as well. Add asafoetida and mix well.Powder the mustard seeds.

Stir in the powdered mustard seeds , asafoetida to the mangoes.Mix well.

The Preservatives:

Vinegar, as said above can be used if the mangoes are less sour.We avoided this as the mangoes were of good quality and secondly I feared V would complain about a “chemical flavour” in the pickle :)

Do not hesitate to stir in Mustard seed oil, which imparts the real traditional taste and thickness to the Kanni manga Achar :)!!

Keep closed the bharani as earlier with the white piece of cloth, tied to the neck.Open and use whenever needed.

Chocolate Cake

2009-04-22T12:57:00.009+05:30

A lovely Christmas gift, neatly wrapped up ,..opened .. by three pairs of tiny hands, reaching impatiently to dig in at the yummiest goodie sitting pretty inside…the tiniest fingers(of my li’l sis )vouching for the thin white layer of simple white spread on top :) satisfied for the moment licking ‘em up..the other two pairs continuing for the rich, moist, chocolaty treat…

The above used to be the usual scene, every Christmas, when we were children.
Somehow ,three us were no great fans of those royal iced fruit cakes with the usual deep coloured hard sugar roses on top, which enter one by one during the festive season..

These Chocolate cakes make me truly nostalgic, simply turning me back to those lovely days, sent over specially by Omana aunty, our neighbour, in other words, Mrs Omana Paul, the master mind of the famous Devon Foods Ltd and a very well known caterer of our town)..yes we’re still lucky to receive her yummiest goodies, till date..;)..

(Let me hope she doesn’t chance upon my blog, esp this pick of mine as she's seemingly a li’l reluctant to share her specialities ;)..)

You Need:

All purpose flour - 300 gms
Powdered sugar - 450 gms (measure after powdering)
Unsalted butter - 290 gms
Milk powder - 20 gms
Curd - 8 oz
Cocoa powder - 70 gms
Eggs - 5 big
Salt - 1 pinch
Soda bi carb - 1 tsp
Nescafe instant coffee powder- 1 tsp
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp

How To Make:

Sieve all purpose flour+ cocoa powder + milk powder + soda + salt at least six times. This is to make sure that the ingredients have blended completely.

Beat the curd well to remove any lumps.

Beat sugar and butter, keep adding one egg at a time and keep mixing well along with the coffee powder. When this batter has blended well, add the vanilla essence.

Alternately add the curd, and the powder mixture to the butter and sugar mixture. Do not beat at this stage. Slowly blend the ingredients and keep mixing well.

Once the batter has blended well, grease a tray and bake in 350 degrees heat. It should take 35-40 minutes to be completely done or bake till the edge of an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Simple Butter Icing:

Mix 30gms butter and 80gms castor sugar and spread over the cake.

(Betty Crocker's/Pillsbury rich n creamy vanilla frosting would also work perfect).

Recipe courtesy : Mrs. Omana Paul.

Recipe Translation courtesy ;)-(since plagiarised from my sister’s post here.) ;) ;)

Easy Cauliflower and Bell Pepper Gravy

2009-04-20T18:19:00.004+05:30

If you are in a look out for the recipe of a quick vegetable gravy that would go almost with any main dish, and would serve fine, your unexpected guests or potluck parties, well, here's your choice!..
Yeah!..I am holidaying at my mom's place now and discovered this a dish both my aunt(dad's sis)and mom make quite recently, frequently..or rather invented by them? ;).
To my surprise V and kids loved this gravy and I thought of blogging as a keeper ;).

According to amma and aunt..
we need,

Cauliflower-a small one-divided into small flowerettes
Green Bell Pepper-diced an inch long (no need to make them too thin strips)-a cup
Big Onions-sliced thin and long-2 nos
Fresh/frozen Green peas-1/4 cup
Tomato pulp- a heaped tbsp (may substitute fresh tomatoes as well)
Red chilly powder-a tsp
An inch piece of ginger, 3 cloves of garlic and 3 green chillies- pulsed coarse in a mixie
Soy Sauce- a tbsp
Corn flour-a tbsp, dissolved in 1/4 cup of luke warm water
Cilantro-to garnish
Oil-a tbsp

Heat oil in a large wide non stick kadai. Sauté onions till translucent(take care, not until golden),and next the pulsed ginger-garlic-chilly mix till the raw smell disappears.Now goes in the red chilly powder. Throw in the bell pepper pieces now and sauté lightly.Stir in the soy sauce in high fame and put off after a few seconds.

Cook the flowerettes and peas in a separate vessel in just enough salter water and transfer into the above kadai with the remaining cooked water.Mix well and bring to a boil. Stir in the cornflour-water mix.Simmer till the required consistency is reached(as in the picture).Simmer again for 3-5 minutes as the gravy thickens. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot. Goes best with chappathis, plain rice or fried rice.

Olan

2009-03-27T19:21:00.005+05:30

"Olan"- An authentic recipe from 'God’s Own Country'.
A fine medley of Kumbalanga(ash gourd) with Vanpayar(cowpeas) and Thengapal(coconut milk) mildly spiced with green chillies, tampered again in a lighter way this makes a perfect ‘Stew’ for hot rice. As you all know Olan is a must served item for Ona Sadya.

You need,

Ashgourd cut into one inch long thin cubical pieces- 2 cups
Cow peas/ red gram-2 tbsps
Green chillies-cut lengthwise-2 nos
Jeera powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-2 sprigs
Salt- to taste

To Season,

Coconut oil-2 tsps
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Shallots-finely minced-2 nos
One red chilly-broken to 3-4 pieces

Preparation of coconut milk for Olan

Coconut-1 small-grated.
Extract ¾ cup of thick and creamy first milk and ½ cup of second milk.

*You can also substitute canned coconut milk or the coconut milk powder(use according to the package instructions to prepare the thick and thin milk).But I always prefer and opt for the traditional methods for the same, not compromising the authentic taste.. :)..

Method:

1. Soak cow peas in luke warm water for about 5-6 hrs and pressure cook till soft.
Add the ash gourd pieces,slit green chillies, jeera power, salt, curry leaves and cook till one whistle.(take care not to over cook and add very little water as the ash gourd pieces give away water while cooking).

2. Open the cooker lid. Add the secondly extracted coconut milk and bring to a simmer for 3-5 minutes in low flame.Add the first milk now and bring to a simmer again.
Put off fire immediately.

3. Season the Olan with spluttered mustard seeds in hot coconut oil, fried shallots and red chilly bits. Check salt and serve warm with rice and curry.

Pavakka Thoran/ Bittergourd Stir-fry with Coconut ..mingled with memories!..

2009-02-28T20:23:00.023+05:30

Prologue

Thomas B. Sebastian, the ‘Prefect’ of Class IV was undoubtedly the outstanding student of our class, appointed specially by the class teacher Ms. Alexander(one of my holy terrors ;) of those days..).

Tom excelled in everything he did.

Be it studies, music, sports…the ‘Class Prefect’ saw to it that the class was ‘Perfect’ in every way!. Even the lunch break was not spared.He would inspect every single classmate making sure he or she was not taking back home, the ‘left overs’ in their respective lunch boxes.

Well, as a child(as any normal kid, I swear:)) I pushed away this pale green vegetable whenever on the table, in whatever avatar it would appear that had always topped the personal “Ever Hate List” :)!..
My ‘clever’(rather humiliating here ;))Mom, very much aware of the above ‘lunch time supervision’, would sneak in this bitter tasting veggie in my lunch box, mostly in thoran form, claiming the added coconut would bring down its bitterness, nutrients well preserved and preferably a healthier version to the fries..
Come lunch break, Tom(whose seat was unfortunately right beside mine) would monitor till I finished the last speck, leaving me depressingly helpless ;)!!..

........

.....
The dislike towards this veg faded away over the years and now on the contrary I am specific to include the same dish in my weekend lunch….the same way my mom prepares,(no more sneaking in my children's tuck boxes, as they are smarter than me, inspecting thoroughly the packed lunch or at least they never had an efficient prefect like my good ol’ pal Tom!).

The sweet memories linger whenever I cook this bitter vegetable.. :)...

*Pavakka/Karela/Bittergourd- cut finely-a cup
Thick tamarind pulp-a tsp
Salt-to taste

Pulse to a coarse mixture(should be crumbly and dry);

Grated coconut-1/2 cup
Shallots -2
Garlic pod-1-2
Red chillies-1-2 or ½ tsp chilly powder(according to your spice level)
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds/powder-1/4 tsp
Water-a tbsp

To season;

Coconut Oil-a tbsp(or any oil you use)
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Shallots- cut finely –a tbsp

Urad dal-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves-a sprig

*Let the bitter gourd be fleshy and pale green/yellow coloured.The darker the hue, more bitter the taste.

1. Transfer the cut vegetable into a shallow pan of boiling salted water just enough to immerse the pieces.Let it simmer for not more than a couple of minutes or until ‘just’ cooked.Drain away the water.(this is to reduce the bitterness of the veg.You can avoid this step and directly proceed with the raw pieces of the veg, too).

2. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, brown the urad dal, fry the shallots till brown and throw in the curry leaves.

3. Add the coarsely ground mixture.Keep the flame low.Sauté continuously so as to get rid of the raw smell taking care not to let it stick to the bottom.

4. Add the precooked veg(if you'd skipped the precooking part,add 2 tbsps of water along with the veg and cook till half done, keeping the pan closed).
Sprinkle water if too dry.Mix well.Add the tamarind pulp and salt.Keep the pan closed and let it cook for 10-15 minutes, in minimum flame.

5. Remove from fire when the spices coat all over and the dry consistency is reached. Check salt.
Serve hot with boiled rice and curry.

Epilogue

Thomas, the state rank holder of our school in the public exams and later in college university, completed his education in Bits Pilani, is currently based in the US with his lovely family.
I’d not met him ever since we left college but fortunately he had come down to our home town for a short holiday, 2 months ago.
I was lucky enough to be there in town at that time, co-ordinating the college meet and desperately tried to bring him down for our reunion function.
The efforts failed.
On the day of the get together, amidst all the cheer that was going on around me, we rambled on the phone for a while; the reminisces of our childhood days, after almost Two Decades!!.. :)

Chocolate Cake in 5 minutes!..

2009-02-18T21:21:00.005+05:30

I’m not a Chocoholic, but I do crave for Chocolate Cakes.
May be because my mom bakes the best of chocolate cakes ever, since we were kids..
Whipping up the cake for myself(as here none relishes this, in my family) I somehow refrain from doing the same..

But what if you can make them in a jiffy, in small portions, in a very comfortable way?
I found this in Arundathi’s place ; whom I have regarded as a practical baker ;) after her Beautiful Banana Bread in my place…and as she says about this one,“it definitely isn't something you want to serve for company. But, hey, its great for that chocolate fix”.

The original recipe is adapted from Daisy Dee, which turned out to be a 'Mega Hit' in hers.

Grab

4 tbsps All-Purpose Flour
4 tbsps Sugar
2 tbsps Cocoa
1 Egg
3 tbsps Milk
3 tbsps Oil
1 Mug

And now..

Mix flour, sugar and cocoa in a mug. Spoon in 1 egg. Add the milk and oil and mix well.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes. It begins to rise and then settle down in the mug.

Remove the cake from the mug onto a plate and enjoy!.

Note- I divided the batter into 2 ramekins and I needed not more than 2 minutes to get them cooked in 900W(micro full power, as in mine) and this method is more promising than using a Mug where the cake may not be cooked evenly, if careless..

As at least a few of you might have experienced; getting back to blogging after a while needs a lots of “pushing ourselves”…sometimes a fuel from a true friend getting you do so…
Swapna, this post is for you, for the high concern and energy level in you had made me do this :) !!..

Best of 2008! - Packing up for the year..

2008-12-18T13:43:00.011+05:30

I admit, being a sporadic blogger this year :) ..popping up now and then giving reasons such as family commitments, lots of travel, poor connectivity and so on ;)..(well, they ARE solid excuses, aren't they?? ;))

Again, amazed to realise the fact that the authentic recipes have ‘clicked’ this year too making them the so called ‘hit posts’..

..so, not much to brag about and better restricting to the top 5 of the year..

Spicy Baby Potatoes

The simplicity of preparing the dish, the availability of the ingredients might have been the reason of this 'hit recipe' :)

Kuzhippaniyarams

Never had in my distant most dreams that this one would ‘click’, while hurriedly entering Suganya’s ‘Healthy eats’ event, at the last moment. Since it was for this young lady who rocks with her stunning pictures, I remember working a real lot with photoshop(exploring for the first time, ever) for better pictures...and finally, the hark work paid! ;)..

Jack fruit Dumplings/Chakka Kumbil Appam.

Yet another authentic recipe from my home town, which hit the list.

The recipes which many of my blogger friends tried, appreciated and got back with good results (supposedly ;)) were..

Chettinad Karakkuzhambu

And Ghee fried Bananas

This post is for Srivalli who hosts the event, Best of year 2008! :)
..needless to mention again, the great GREAT time we shared while co-ordinating Arusuvai earlier this year.. :)..

I sincerely thank all my blogger pals and readers for their loving and kind support throughout these wonderful days of blogging making each moment lovely and meaningful.

I am eager to experiment more with new cuisines, post recipes consistenly, participate in more events and visit blogger pals’ place with words of encouragement, without fail, as always!.

Wishing you all the very best, the Season can bring!..

Love,

Bharathy :)

Mexican Wedding Cookies!..

2008-12-11T20:55:00.010+05:30

No Christmas is complete without cookies, so lets bake some!!..Says the sweet lady here :) .

This interesting recipe was found out from her place :)..
Keeping the page open, I rushed to the stores to make sure I was equipped with the raw materials..and YES!..; I couldn’t wait any longer…
Of course we don’t have any lovely snow fall here to compliment, but the season of festivity, the winter..…alas!!..they were real melt-in-the-mouth, perfect with a cup of hot tea.

The original recipe source- Mexican Wedding Cookies by Paula Deen from http://www.foodnetwork.com/

To yield 15-20 cookies

Get ready with:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting hands
1/2 cup pecans, chopped into very small pieces (I used walnuts)

Method:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. Line cookies sheets with parchment paper.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar at low speed until it is smooth. Beat in the vanilla. At low speed gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. With floured hands, take out about 1 tablespoon of dough and shape into a crescent or a shape of your choice. Continue to dust hands with flour as you make more cookies. Place onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in additional confectioners' sugar or use a small strainer to dust in. Cool on wire racks.

Sharmi, these were baked specially for your lovely Cookie Baking Event. :).

Planning to bake another batch, fresh, this weekend as I am visiting my parents in Kerala for Christmas holidays. Feelling really proud to have thus entered dear Happy Cook's very first and sweet event of Home Made Christmas Gifts :) .

Kovakka Mezhukkupuratti / Stir-fried Tindoras

2008-12-04T21:27:00.013+05:30

Tindoras don't really find a place among my regular lunch spread as my better half and kids totally dislike the vegetable.

Since we were more exposed to Kovakka, as children; though been regarded as a tasteless green veggie, yet well enough with this preparation; I make this stir fry once in a while just to satisfy my craving of those childhood days...

Here's my version of Kovakka/Ivy gourd Mezhukkupuratti.

Ingredients:

Kovakka/Tindoras-2 cups-sliced thin, lengthwise.

Redchillies-2

Shallots/Small Onions-7-8 nos

Garlic- 2 flakes

Coconut Oil- A tbsp

Curry Leaves- a sprig

Mustard seeds-for seasoning-1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Method:

1. Wash the vegetable.Cut off the tips. (as Inji says here, slice them along lenghthwise as thin as possible so as to avoid pre-cooking). Somehow I ended up slicing them a little chunky as they were from my own garden and was not easy to get 'em sliced thin and again was forced to pre-cook (cooking till half done in a closed pan with salt, with just enough water).

2. Pulse the onions, red chillies and garlic in the mixie for not more than 5-10 seconds or crush them coarse using a hand mortar.

3. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, splutter mustard seeds, sauté crushed onion- garlic- chilly mixture till raw smell disappears, for a few seconds.Throw in curry leaves.

4. Add the vegetable and mix well so as to get coated with the spices. Keep the pan open, on a medium flame, tossing well, once in three minutes.

5. Remove from fire when they are roasted or acquire a golden brown hue, here and there.This would take 20 minutes time, more or less. Remove from fire and serve hot with rice.

A College Reunion,a Nostalgic me!..More abt me too!!..

2008-11-06T17:57:00.009+05:30

Have you ever heard of this Hit movie Classmates?

This Malayalam Movie(2006) talks about campus life of the students of CMS College in the year 1991 ; a beautiful story that unwinds about them meeting after 15 long years!.

Well, I am proud to announce to all my friends that I myself was a CMS ite of the very same period and that we are going to have a meet up after the same span of time!..

The meeting which is proposed to be on December 28th 2008 is a much awaited one as I am an active co-ordianator of the event.
Mr.Kiran John, my immediate senior, who is in charge of this re-union of 1985-1995 batch, holds a wonderful blog, which talks more abt the College and the Meet..

This Pookkalam/Floral carpet designed by me bagged a prize for the Onam celebrations.
I'm not here in this picture...but have a few of my pics with my close friends, of those days in Kiran’s Blog here.

Again,
"The Decade Dreams", the lovely Malayalam music album shot in the Beautiful CMS College Campus is dedicated to the Alumni.

And now, ..

Can I expect my blogger pals’ ‘Inspirational Comments’ and ‘Wishes’ under my post in Kiran’s place, Please ? :)

P.S -I have disabled the comment section down here so as to gently push you there ;).
Each comment there is going to be special and very precious to me as always...

Looking forward to your Loving Wishes,

Bharathy :)

Image courtesy-CMS College KTM-Mr.Kiran John.

A Slice of Love...

2008-10-04T20:53:00.009+05:30

Are you a banana lover? I bet you would love this.Do give a shot as this is one of the easiest dishes ever..

Amma makes this with much ease and expertise, when it comes to slicing the ripe bananas directly to the hot kadai, in no time with fresh ghee heating up in it. This dish, supposed to be a sweet snack, is somehow a ‘meal’ for my brother, sis and me.

She loves this cold, spongy and chewy,
While I prefer- warm, soft and juicy.
For this reason I fry the well ripened fruit slices in butter while the actual recipe calls for ghee.

So, here goes the recipe for Aethapazham/Nenthranpazham Vazhattiyathu or the Ghee Roasted Bananas..

Ingredients:

Butter- ¾ - 1 cup
Ripe Kerala Bananas/aethappazham/nenthran pazham-2 nos- each slice to abt a cm thick.
Sugar-a tbsp

Method:

Melt butter in a wide non stick kadai..Dump in the fruit slices.Spread them well so as to facilitate deep frying keeping the flame sim to medium.Turn over the slices, gently, so as to cook the other side.Do not close the kadai at any stage.Let the slices turn deep brown to black.
The whole roasted time takes up to 20-25 minutes and by the end the butter would have turned to ghee. Transfer the slices carefully from the pan while still piping hot to a casserole.Sprinkle sugar, toss and keep tightly closed.Open after, say 15 mins.The heat of the fried slices would have melted the sugar by now which gives a syrupy sweet coating to the final dish.(The remaining ghee in the pan can be reused).
Serve warm.

My sis who never gets tired of hosting events has come up with a unique one this month after the movie Saas Bahu and Sensex and says “It can be anything ranging from a recipe an aunt passed along, a dish your mom used to make, quick enough so that she has time to pack you off to school and get to work herself, a meal that you enjoyed during your girls' night out with friends and want to re-create at home.”
Please visit the movie website by clicking here.

And sis, this is for you, dedicated to "our" sweet amma and granny :)

Obviously, the recipe is passed over to amma by her mom, which gives out that heavenly aroma while getting fried; even more than the wonderful flavour of ripe bananas and ghee; we taste her Love, mingled all over, in every slice…

Ada Pradhaman

2008-09-11T21:12:00.005+05:30

Pradhaman is an important item of Kerala Cuisine and a 'must served' one for "Ona Sadhya".

The pradhaman here is made using ADA as the major ingredient, known as Sarkara Ada Pradhaman. Formerly I used to make ada by soaking raw rice, dry grinding it, making into a batter, pouring in a plantain leaf, spreading, rolling and tying each of the strips and steamcooking them;again cooling the strips and peeling them carefully, sprinkling cold water and tearing them into tiny bits.I had made the pradhaman you see here, following this method.Well, this is supposed to be the exact traditional way of preparing them, definitely making the recipe elaborate as these pictures would explain!.

The readymade ada packets in the market serve the purpose equally well.Most of the brands make ada using "maida" as the major ingridient.So it is important to make sure that the pack you buy is of made using "Rice", instead(press one of them lightly which crumbles easily and not hard).As a result of the above 'experiment', I found 'Double Horse' brand Ari Palada, the best.

Ingredients:

Rice Ada(ready made)-100gms.

Jaggery-2 medium balls / 350-400gms.

Coconuts-2 medium-or to yield 6 grated cups.

Ghee-1 tbspCardamom, powdered-1/4 tsp.

A few Raisins and Cashews-fried in ghee-optional

Method:
1.Wash Ada and soak in hot boiled water.Cover with a lid.Keep aside for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile prepare the coconut extract using minimum amounts of water.The "first milk" should be of 2- 2 1/2 cups.The thin milk or the 'second milk'(secondly extracted from the same molasses)of 3 cups.Reserve the mass of coconut shavings to extract 3rd milk, if necessary, towards the end.

3. Crush the jaggery balls into smaller pieces and make the syrup, by boiling just half a cup of water, for 10-15 minutes till it turns slightly thicker (almost the consistency of honey).

4. Strain and transfer the jaggery syrup to a hot thick bottomed flat utensil,(Uruli is the most preferred :).. nonstick woks can also be substituted)

5. Add the ada, now turned soft, after draining the water completely,to the utensil containing the jaggery syrup.Mix them well, carefully without breaking the ada and adding ghee at this point to avoid sticking together.Let the ada absorb the sweetness well. Simmer till it reduces to three fourth.

6. Add the second milk of coconut and simmer for 10 minutes on low fire.

7. Add the cardamom powder to the 1st milk of coconut and pour in to the wok.Simmer till it just boils or for 2 minutes.Do not boil for long to avoid curdling up.

8. Pradhaman must reach a semi thick consistency by now.If its too thick, add coconut milk, which you can prepare again(the thinnest 3rd milk) from the same coconut shavings after the exracrtion of the 2nd milk.
Again,the pradhaman tends to get thicker, once it is cooled down to room temperature.So do bear this in mind,while checking the consistency while removing from fire.

9. Remove from fire.Addition of golden fried cashews and raisins (in ghee) is purely optional as the original or the traditional recipe is devoid of the same.

10."Sarkara Ada Pradhaman"can be served Hot or Cold.

Note: Originally, as the recipe, the ada is sunken and the liquid part is what is seen, superficially.Attempting to bring out the ada, the liquid part of the pradhaman was drained, for the pictures, for a better understanding, here.

Wishing you all a Very Happy Onam!..

JFI- Soya Chunk Cutlets

2008-08-31T14:49:00.006+05:30

True that I love cooking soy and soy products, mainly because I’m into a core vegetarian family as these compliment a real good source of protein and supplement for the growing children.They had been persuading me to come up with the usual Soy chunk gravy, which I haven’t made for months, while hubby was looking forward to some freshly boiled and seasoned soy beans, though he was aware of the fact that they are not in season, at least here, at present.

Tofu was unfortunately out of stock in the near by supermarket today(I could always come up with the easy, yummy and healthy scrambled version of it, as the last minute entry)and I received perplexed looks from the sales girls when I demanded for pack of soy flour.All I could grab was a pack of Meal maker(soy chunks)sitting pretty and smiling at me from one of those topmost racks!..
Back home, I googled to find an interesting recipe from here.

The reasons for choosing the above are,

Easy recipe (promising to be tasty too).
Cutlets, an all time fav of my children.(a fine opportunity to sneak in spinach or any other ‘disapproved’ veg readily accepted as a filling ;))
As a replacement for my sudden craving for meat cutlets(sob sob) :)

So here goes, ( to yield 10 cutlets)..

You Need:

Soya Chunks-1 cup
Big onions-2 nos
Ginger –an inch piece
Garlic pods- 4 big or 7 small ones
Curry leaves- a few
Coriander powder-1/2 tsp or finely chopped cilantro-a tbsp
Chilly powder-1 tsp(more or less according to your spice level)
Garam masala powder-1 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Potato(medium)boiled-3 nos
Salt- as needed
Oil-2 tbsp
Bread crumbs- 3/4 cup or as reqd
*Egg-1 large
Oil-for deep frying

Method:

1. Boil a pan of water(3 to 4 cups).Wash and soak soya.Turn off fire and close the pan with a lid for 20-30 minutes.Ensure the chunks are soaked well and absorbs water by stirring once in 10 minutes.

2. Drain, squeeze out excess water and mince in a mixie.

3. Chop ginger-garlic,onions, green chillies and curry leaves to fine pieces and sauté in that order in 2 tbsps of oil.

4. When the colour turns to light brown, add salt, turmeric,coriander and chilly powders. Saute and mix well.

5. Add the minced Soya chunks and sauté for a few minutes.At this stage the mix resembles scrambled eggs.Sprinkle a few drops of water, cover and cook for 5 more minutes in minimum heat.

6. Add the garam masala, pepper powder and chopped cilantro.Mix well.

7. Add the boiled(preferable microwaved jacket potatoes-peeled and mashed), mix well and remove from fire.

8. When cooled shape into cutlets, dip in beaten eggs, roll in bread crumbs and fry in oil until golden brown in medium fire.

9. Serve hot with onion rings and tomato ketchup.

*For a vegetarian/vegan recipe substitute maida/bengal gram flour batter instead of beaten egg.

Now, off to Sia for JFI- Soya :)...

Banana Bread with Walnuts

2008-08-24T16:41:00.005+05:30

Whew..I made it..at last..!!
..which I had always wanted to try, bookmarked, gone over and over, glancing at the recipe, sighing and postponing lazily…

This Beautiful Banana Bread, beautifully wrapped(at least a dozen of ‘em!) was brought over by the charming and creative girl, Arundathi for the “May 1st -Chennai Bloggers Meet.”

While driving back home,( still a little lost and mesmerised by the lovely thoughts of those moments we shared just then) I had to grab a piece from my daughter who unwrapped the beautiful pack, reaching for the bread inside and was already finishing off too quickly remarking,"Ma, this simply tastes divine, well, here’s your share and you ARE going to try this without ANY of your lame excuses, soon!."

So, after 3 long months I am finally up with the divine "Banana Bread with Walnuts!".. the lovely flavour lingering in the air, the second batch still getting baked in the oven..

Trying to recreate the original taste, no changes were made and Here is the link of the recipe, again!

Rushing this to MBP- Fruit Fare hosted by Aparna, for the month.

And to add, Aparna, yes for sure, you hold the complete credit for pushing me to venture this! :)..Thanx a bunch!..

Vegetable Khurma

2008-08-13T19:59:00.014+05:30

If someone asks me, “have you ever tried making parathas?”
I wouldn’t say a blunt 'No'!.

Yes, I have, with my sister in law about a decade ago!.

It was our first joint attempt of making the same and came out with at least 3 dozens of real hot parathas after 3 long hours of hard labour(otherwise for the preparation of the dough,which SIL patiently took up)
Once we were through, I should mention, my SIL bluntly remarked.."hmmff I'm never going to attempt this again..
"Yup, bet!.. me too!"!I replied with a sigh!!..
Well, always good at keeping my words ;) I’ve never dared to make ‘em since then.

At least for me, I believe- it’s quite a tiring job!..though my friend Renuka, an expert in preparing parathas, never admits! :).

So, the yummy hot parathas were brought home by my better half and for sure the side-dish here is the fruit of my own effort : )
Again, the recipe of Khurma is my own creation since it’s a mix up of my mom’s and ma in law’s.

Srivalli, this is for your great event of Curry Mela.

Get ready with:

Vegetables- potatoes, carrots, peas, cauliflower- diced, not too small pieces- 2 large cups
Big Onion-medium sized, sliced lenghthwise- 1
Garlic-sliced lengthwise-5-6 cloves
Spices-cloves,cardamom and cinnamon- 2 each
Oil-a tbsp
Thick n creamy coconut milk-1/2 cup
Bay leaves-2-3 nos
Chopped cilantro-to garnish
Salt-to taste

To Grind:
Coconut-1/2 cup
Ginger-an inch piece
Garlic-2 cloves
Green Chillies-3-4 nos
Roasted gram/pottukkadalai-2 tsps
Fennel seeds/saunf-a tsp
Khus khus/poppy seeds-a tsp
Coriander powder-a tsp

Method:

1. Cook vegetables till half done, one by one in just enough salted water according to their respective cooking timings.

2. Grind the listed ingredients to a smooth paste.

3. Heat oil in the utensil intended to make the curry.Throw in the spices. Sauté sliced onions till translucent.Transfer the ground paste along with enough water.Bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes.Transfer the cooked vegetables together to the simmering curry and let it simmer again for a few minutes.Add the bay leaves and salt.

4. Remove from fire when the khurma reaches the semi thick consistency.Blend in coconut milk gently.Garnish with finely chopped cilantro. Serve hot with Parathas.

A few more awards I now need to brag about, though accepted late, are :) :-

Great bear hugs from Divya, Suma and Prajusha.

Prajusha, thankyou again for the Yum Yum award.

Proud to receive the inspirational award from dear Lathamma.

The following rules apply to this award:
1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. 4 of them followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

I'd like to pass on this award to these blogging friends -

Prajusha, Lathamma, Divya, Renuka and Lavanya.

Blogging Friends Forever, Best blog darts thinker and Beautiful site awards are presented by Suma Rajesh.

I’ve been seriously thinking of changing my old fashioned, stale template style here while I was presented this wonderful award from Pallavi and Suma, again.

Brilliant Weblog is a prize given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design. The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogsphere.

Here are the rules to follow:
When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.
Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.
Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’.
Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

I would like to pass all my other awards(except BFF which is listed above) to-

Prajusha, Divya, Nags, Srivalli, Lathamma and Lakshmi, Renuka, Suganya, Sra, Aparna, Pallavi, Lavanya and Mitr (except the 'yum yum award' as she is not a food blogger:))

P.S- Ignore the ones you are already awarded.

No words to Thank my lovely pals for fondly remembering me to pass over these wonderful awards to me even when I was away from blogging..

Plagiarism- Never Ends!!...

2008-08-02T19:17:00.012+05:30

Though I had not been blogging for a while, I had been painfully knowing a lot about cyber stalking and plagiarism happening around my blogger pals.

Unfortunately and unexpectedly I found myself a victim of this act by a blogger here.

The plagiarised contents,

1.

The original post of mine and the link.

The picture of Potato bondas which has been blatantly copied from my original post here.

The image of Mango Icecream copied from my original post, here!!!..

The same blog owner has lifted pictures from other blogs, adding his/her own version of recipes, side by side attempting to earn through Google AdSense!!..

I have already left comments in there to remove them, in the most polite way, though there is no response till now.

Sincere and heartfelt thanks to,

Karthik, for his timely assistance.

Mishmash, who brought this to my notice.
Her pictures are also copied without permission by the same site; detailed post here!.